Modern Singapore seemingly owes its incredible success to one man. In this month’s cover story: Albert Lau looks at the remarkable role of Lee Kuan Yew in building an economic powerhouse ahead of the centenary of his birth.
The role of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore’s remarkable rise seems to contradict the old adage that ‘success has many fathers’. Modern Singapore, it is generally agreed, has one. Consider that rise in the contrasting experiences of two British prime ministers. Winston Churchill was ‘stupefied’ (in the words of his doctor) at the fall of Singapore in 1942, and struggled to get over it. Just over 50 years later, in 1994 Tony Blair travelled to Lee’s Singapore to seek his advice. ‘I said, “I want you to tell me how you think I can win and how you think I should govern” – which he then did’, Blair later recalled.
September 2023 marks Lee’s centenary so assessments of his legacy are to be expected. Firstly, there is the ‘good’, as suggested by Lee’s many (often green-eyed) admirers. They include Henry Kissinger, Deng Xiaoping, Margaret Thatcher and Vladimir Putin. The Brexit dream of London becoming a ‘Singapore-on Thames’ still occasionally rears its head.
Then, there is the ‘bad’. Democracy is under siege globally, but there are those who believe in it, and in human rights. Activist Kirsten Han’s We, the Citizens covers the nation Lee built from a rights-based perspective. Han’s recent articles include ‘Three executions in eight days’ and ‘Do you care about migrant workers’ lives or not?’
And there is the ‘ugly’. The long, arcane dispute between Lee’s children over the fate of his home led the comedian Sonny Liew to propose ‘38 Oxley Road: The Board Game’ in March this year. ‘Each player is given cards representing their character’s motivations. These may include “political ambition”, “family loyalty”, “public opinion”, and “property development”.’ Lee’s shadow is long; our cover story by Albert Lau is a clear assessment of the man who cast it.
Elsewhere in this issue, the subject of reputation management is put on trial by Amy Fuller: could the Spanish Crown have allowed Hernán Cortés to be guilty of uxoricide? Fans of Eric Ambler and espionage fiction will enjoy Alfio Bernabei’s revelation that the truth is sometimes at least as strange, and there are further plot twists (of a biblical nature) in Patricia Fara’s column.
In this issue...
Lee Kuan Yew’s Singapore Story One man more than any other is associated with Singapore’s remarkable success. On his centenary: who was Lee Kuan Yew and how did he do it?
The Man in the Brown Suit Mystery surrounds George McMahon who, having tried to kill Edward VIII, outed himself as an agent of a ‘foreign power’. Does the discovery of new Italian documents solve the puzzle or obscure it further?
Cortés the Killer? Within two months of arriving in New Spain, Catalina Suárez Marcaida, first wife of the conquistador Hernán Cortés, was dead. Did she meet with foul play?
Cæd, Bæd and Dangerous to Know What happened in Britain after the Romans left? The names of those who remained – and those who arrived – may hold an answer.
